The Joseph G. Rountree, II, Family
Papers, [ca. 1819]-1990, document Joseph Gustave Rountree, II’s research into the
Rountree genealogy and the history of Bee County, Texas, as well as Joseph Gustave
Rountree, III’s career as an engineering consultant for numerous radio stations.

The son of Joseph Gustave Rountree, I, and the former Lizzie C. Stillwell, Joseph
Gustave Rountree, II (1879-1962) lived on Rountree Ranch, established in 1874 in
Beeville, Texas. An amateur historian and genealogist, he published Rowntree and Rountree Family History, 1521-1953 (1959)
and A History of Bee County, Texas (1960). In 1904,
Rountree married Adele "Della" Kinkler (1886-1934),
and the couple had two children, Adele (1905-2000) and Joseph Gustave, III.

Joseph Gustave "Gus" Rountree, III (1914-1993)
graduated from the University of Texas’s physics program in 1937. He worked for
standard broadcast stations (1936-1941), the Federal Communications Commission
(1941-1946), and consulting engineering firms (1946-1953). In 1953, Rountree opened
his own consulting engineering firm in Austin, Texas, which provided engineering
studies and exhibits for radio stations all over the United States. In 1939,
Rountree married Jessie Marie Piatt, and they had two children, Joseph Gustave
Rountree, IV (1947-1989) and Ann Marie (Mrs. George) Sandlin. On March 21, 1990,
Rountree, III, married Irma Kuhnel (1931-2010) in Hays County.

The Joseph G. Rountree, II, Family Papers, [ca. 1819]-1990, document Joseph Gustave
Rountree, II’s research into the Rountree genealogy and the history of Bee County,
Texas, as well as Joseph Gustave Rountree, III’s career as an engineering consultant
for numerous radio stations in the United States. The genealogical material consists
of correspondence between Rountree, II, and other Rountrees, Roundtrees, and
Rowntrees about individual family trees; reminiscences and narratives of the
Rountree family members; travel and family diaries; property documents; printed
genealogies and family histories; and family photographs. Rountree, III’s
engineering files include consultant reports, applications for broadcasting licenses
and permits, and correspondence with engineers and employees of American radio
stations. Leases, abstracts of title, photographs, and pamphlets concern family
land, royalty payments, and mining ventures.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.